Paper still covered the windows of Naughty Water Whiskey Bar and Grille on Saturday after a meeting about the man who is set to be the restaurant's general manager. Owner Jerry Iannucci said staff, including Mario Marro, are putting the finishing touches on the restaurant for a Dec. 16 opening. less

Paper still covered the windows of Naughty Water Whiskey Bar and Grille on Saturday after a meeting about the man who is set to be the restaurant's general manager. Owner Jerry Iannucci said staff, including ... more

BRIDGEPORT -- While running Naughty Water Whiskey Bar and Grille, Mario Marro allegedly has been a naughty ex-con.

Marro, a sex offender whose involvement with the newly opened watering hole has drawn fire from community leaders and police, was arrested on June 18 and accused of violating probation by working at the bar beyond a court-ordered time limit.

"You don't want to be right," said Councilwoman Susan Brannelly, D-130, who, with state Rep. Auden Grogins, D-Bridgeport, and others, opposed a decision to make Marro general manager of Naughty Water when it opened in the Black Rock entertainment strip last winter.

But Marro's attorney, Gary Mastronardi, said Monday his client has not made a move without the state probation department knowing about it, and that Marro has been unfairly targeted.

"He paid his debt to society and he has a right to work, but these people who don't even know up from down don't want him to," Mastronardi said.

In 2001, Marro, former owner of the Liquid nightclub in South Norwalk, was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for drugging a woman with an animal tranquilizer called ketamine, and sexually assaulting her, according to news accounts at the time. He was released in January 2013 and then hired by his uncle, Naughty Water owner Jerry Iannucci, to run the bar.

Marro's criminal history, coupled with what some viewed as Naughty Water's "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" reference to the sex assault, alarmed some Black Rock residents.

"The sex incident occurred in his own home, not out at a bar or in the street," Mastronardi said Monday. "She came to his house."

Over the winter, Brannelly and Grogins contacted the state Office of Adult Probation and were told Marro would be in violation of his probation if he ran Naughty Water.

So Marro filed a motion to change the rules and got the chance at redemption he was looking for. In January, state Superior Court Judge Eddie Rodriguez Jr. ordered that Marro could work for his uncle from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and had to be home by 10 p.m. Marro was also placed on electronic monitoring.

According to court documents, Marro was given several chances before being arrested for violating his probation.

He was 45 minutes late for his 10 p.m. curfew on Feb. 18 and was at Naughty Water after 7 p.m. on March 12 and 14, according to court documents.

Despite a warning from his probation officer, Marro, court papers said, also stayed later at the bar on April 6, 11, 26 and 30, and on May 2, 7, 12, 19, 25, 26, 27 and 31.

"It's egregious, as though there wasn't a reason for him to be given the restrictions," Brannelly said, adding she had received multiple complaints that Marro was abusing the terms of his work schedule.

Marro gave his probation officer numerous work-related excuses, including having to meet with a liquor distributor and changes in staff.

Iannucci, in an interview last week, claimed Marro's probation violation had nothing to do with the bar and further, Marro was not managing it, but cleaning, checking orders and handling other responsibilities.

"People in Black Rock must have got a little aggravated and want to start some trouble," Iannucci said. "He's been following the rules. I throw him out of there at 7 p.m. ... I think there's more of a misunderstanding on the whole thing. It doesn't make sense."

But Mastronardi confirmed Marro has been running Naughty Water.

"Before this restaurant opened, my client went to Probation and got everything approved," Mastronardi said. "He even showed them the menu. He didn't make a move without Probation's approval."

Bridgeport Police Capt. Brian McCarthy, who oversees patrols in Black Rock, has been a vocal opponent of Marro working at Naughty Water.

"Whether Mr. Marro has the title of general manager, assistant manager or employee, the concerns from the Police Department and the community haven't changed," McCarthy said. "The fact that he was arrested for violating probation, for whatever reason, only reinforces those concerns."